Characteristics of the recirculation sector of fintish aquaculture in the united statesand canada

Cha c t e r i s t i c so fth eR e c i r cu la t ionS e c to ro fF in t i sh Aqua cu l tu r einth eUn i t edS ta t e sandCanada 2,E J D e l abb io1* ,B R Mu rphy1,G R John son H a l l e rm an1 V i rg in i aPo ly t e chn i cIn s t i tu t eandS t a t eUn iv e r s i ty D ep t F i sh e r i e sandW i ld l i f eS c i en c e s B l a ck sbu rg ,V i rg in i a 24061 -0321USA F i shP a tho logyUn i t ,A t l an t i cV e t e r in a ryCo l l eg e , fP r in c eEdw a rdI s l and Un iv e r s i tyo ,C an ad a Ch a r lo t t e town ,PE IEOG2XO *Correspondingauthor ,cu r r en tadd r e s s : B lu e f i e ldS t a t eCo l l eg e P O Box286 B lu e f i e ld ,W e s tV i rg in i a2 1USA E -m a i l :jd e l abb io@b lu e f i e ld wvn e t edu ABSTRACT Inth eau tumno f2001 ,asu rv eyw a scondu c t edtoex am in eb a s i cf a rm p rodu c t ionandhum anr e sou r c ech a r a c t e r i s t i c so fr e c i r cu l a t ionf a c i l i t i e s inth eUn i t edS t a t e sandC an ad acu r r en t lyg row ingf in f i sh An 86% f r e spon s er a t ew a sa ch i ev ed Th esu rv eyd a t aind i c a t eth a tth i ss e c to ro aqu a cu l tu r ei squ i t eh e t e rog en eou s Th enumb e randpound so ff i sh p rodu c edi squ i t ev a r i ab l e ,w i thp r e s en c eo fsm a l l ,m ed ium -andl a rg e s i z edf a rm sinth i ss e c t o r R e c i r cu l a t iont e chno log i e sa r eemp loy edto fbo thw a rmw a t e randco ldw a t e rf i sh e sinbo th cu l tu r eaw id ev a r i e tyo s a l tw a t e randf r e shw a t e rs i tu a t ion s Th efou rf i sh e smo s t common ly g rowninr e c i r cu l a t ionun i t sinth eUn i t edS t a t e sandC an ad aa r eA t l an t i c s a lmonsmo l t s ,t i l ap i a ,hyb r ids t r ip edb a s sando rn am en t a lf i sh e s Ah igh p ropo r t iono ff a c i l i t i e su s ingr e c i r cu l a t iont e chno log i e su s epump ed ff a c i l i t i e s g roundw a t e sap r im a ryw a t e rsou r c e Ov e r40%o r ep r e s en t edinth esu rv eyr e lyonas ing l ew a t e rsou r c etosu s t a inth e i r op e r a t ionandh av en os e cond a ryw a t e rsou r c ea sb a ckup M an ag em en t fr e c i r cu l a t ionf a c i l i t i e sa r eh igh lyedu c a t ed ;mo r e th an74% p e r sonn e lo o fr e spond en t sr epo r t edho ld inga tl e a s tanund e rg r adu a t ed eg r e e Th e m a jo r i ty o fp e r sonn e lm an ag ing r e c i r cu l a t ionf a c i l i t i e sa r em idd l e ag ed ind iv idu a l swhoh av eov e r1 0y e a r so fr e l a t edwo rkexp e r i en c e Th e In t e rn a t ion a lJou rn a lo fR e c i r cu l a t ingAqu a cu l tu r e ,Vo lum e4 findings of this study represent the first empirical description of the recirculation sector of finfish aquaculture in the United States and Canada INTRODUCTION Over the past 25 years, aquaculture has been one of the fastestgrowing sectors of US agriculture In 1974, the farm gate value of all US aquaculture products was $45 million; by 1998, it had increased to almost $1 billion (USDA 2000) The 1998 Federal Census on Aquaculture (USDA 2000) indicated that there were over 4,000 aquaculture operations in the United States These operations represent all sectors of aquaculture production (mollusks, finfish, crustaceans and plants) Many of these operations are quite small Almost 50% of the aquaculture operations in the United States have an annual income of $25,000 or less (USDA 2000) These census data show that only a small percentage of the total US aquaculture industry currently uses recirculation technology Of the 4,000 operations in existence, only 328 US fish farms identify themselves as "recirculation" facilities However, due to the use of unclear terminology in the census, this number may be inflated and therefore misleading The definition identifying recirculation operations was "reuse of water in an aquaculture facility (closed system) rather than releasing into nature and continually being replaced by new water (open system)" The use of this definition allowed a variety of activities that are pseudo-aquaculture in nature to be included under the recirculation category For example, among the 328 recirculation facilities identified were operations run by fishermen to hold captured wild crustaceans during market lulls and when the animals are preand post-molt (and therefore less marketable) The Canadian aquaculture industry also has grown substantially over the past two decades Between 1984 and 1995, Canadian aquaculture production increased at an annual rate of 21.6% (FAO 1997) The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) predicted that finfish producers will double 2001 production by the year 2006 (OCAD 2001) Similar to the US industry, the recirculation sector of the Canadian aquaculture industry lacks quantitative and qualitative description International Journal of Recirculating Aquaculture, Volume METHODS A survey instrument was developed and administered to gather baseline information about facilities using recirculation technology in the United States and Canada For this study, the defining element for a recirculation facility was that the operation "had to use a biofilter in its fish culture system" Information on currently operating recirculation facilities was obtained from three different and independent sources: ( 1) government aquaculture representatives for each state and province, (2) representatives from national associations representing particular sectors of aquaculture, and (3) feed company representatives and research groups who have professional interaction with the recirculation sector of aquaculture Information from the three sources was cross-referenced to develop a final mailing list representing the current status of this sector The initial sampling frame consisted of 162 facilities In spring 2001, the survey questionnaire and mailing protocol were developed using a modified version of Dillman's Total Design Method (TDM) (Dillman 1978) The questionnaire was pre-tested with six different managers of finfish rearing units in the United States and Canada These managers represented different components of the finfish sector (business, research and demonstration facilities) and were asked to complete the questionnaire, give detailed comments on areas for improvement, and identify areas of ambiguity Following the pre-test, the questionnaire was revised, printed, and mailed to 162 facilities in the United States and Canada The questionnaire was composed of 43 questions Three consecutive mailings were made during the fall of 2001 Each mailing included a cover letter, the complete questionnaire, and a stamped, return envelope An incentive (a cookbook of farmed trout recipes) was offered to those respondents who returned the questionnaire promptly Respondents were identified by a randomly-assigned number only Data Analysis Response data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, version 11.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) software Most of the data collected through the survey were nominal in nature; International Journal of Recirculating Aquaculture, Volume frequency distributions were constructed for responses to all questions within nominal response categories There were four continuous variables in the results; frequency distributions and other summary statistics were produced for these variables RESULTS Overall, there was an 86% response rate to the survey Correctly identifying the target people (names and addresses) before the first mailing of the questionnaire was key to achieving the high response rate of this study One hundred and forty-one completed questionnaires were returned, but 10 of the respondents did not use a biofilter in their operation, and therefore did not fit the study's defining frame of a "recirculation" facility The following results, therefore, incorporate data obtained from 131 facilities in the United States and Canada Seventyone percent of the respondents were from the United States (n=93) and 29% were from the Canada (n=38) The data represent information obtained from facilities in 32 states and provinces Production Characteristics of Recirculation Units The recirculation sector of aquaculture is composed of small-, mediumand large-sized farms (Figure 1) A breakdown of the sector by size of production (annual volume of fish) shows that the majority of recirculation operations (58%) produce 22,679.6 kg (50,000 lbs) or less of fish per year Medium-sized farms (producing >22,680.1 kg [50,000 lbs] to 113,398.1 kg [250,000 lbs] of fish per year) comprise 25% of the sector The remaining 17% of the farms are large farms that individually produce over 113,398 kg (250,000 lbs) of fish per year Five very large farms (annual production greater than 453,592.4 kg [1 million pounds]) responded to the survey Two of these farms produce tilapia (Oreochromis spp.), and one each grow Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), chinook salmon (Oncoryhynchus tchawytscha), and hybrid striped bass (Marone sp.) Annual production expressed as number of fish produced was similar to production by weight (Table 1) Small-sized farms, producing fewer than 50,000 fish annually, comprised 41 % of the respondents, medium-sized farms, those producing 50,000 to 500,000 fish per year comprised 26% of the respondents, and large-sized farms, those growing more than 500,000 fish per year represented 28% International Journal of Recirculating Aquaculture, Volume o-2,268 (O - 5,000 lbs) - ~ 2,268.4 - 4,536 (5001 - 10,000 lbs) -o 4,536.4 - 9072 (10,001 - 20,000 lbs) Q) g 9,072.3 - 22,679.6 (20,001 - 50,000 lbs) e 22,680.1 - 45,359.2 (50,001 - 100,000 lbs) ~ 45,359.7 -113,398.1 (100,001 - 250,000 lbs) -0 a ::::s 113,398.5 - 226,796.2 (250,001 - 500,000 lbs) ~ 226,796.6 - 453,592.4 (500,001 - million lbs) more than 453,592.4 (more than million lbs) 10 20 30 40 50 Frequency Figure I: Annual production (kg) for recirculation facilities in the United States and Canada Fish Produced Count Percent Cumulative Percent 31 24.4 24.4 10,001 - 20,000 fish 5.5 29.9 20,001 - 50,000 fish 14 11.0 40.9 50,001 - 100,000 fish 5.5 46.5 100,001 - 250,000 fish 12 9.4 60.6 250,001 - 500,000 fish 14 11.0 71.7 500,001 - million fish 12 9.4 81.1 million - 1.5 million fish 12 9.4 90.6 more than 1.5 million fish 12 9.4 100.0 127 100.0 O- 10,000 fish Total Table I: Annual numbers offish produced in recirculation facilities in the United States and Canada International Journal of Recirculating Aquaculture, Volume Eighty-five percent of recirculation facilities were freshwater operations (Figure 2) The primary water source for 48% of the respondents was well water Chlorinated municipal water was the second most common primary water supply (24%) for recirculation facilities The respondents were also queried regarding secondary water sources used during a production cycle Well water (28%) and chlorinated municipal water (18%) were the most commonly used secondary water sources for recirculation facilities (Table 2) Surface water was used by 14% of the respondents as a secondary water source However, over 40% of the facilities used only a single water source and did not have a secondary water source for use in times of emergency well water 48.1% chlorinated water 23.7% other 3.8% artificial seawater 5.3% spring water 7.6% surface water 5.3% pumped seawater 6.1% Figure 2: Main source of water for recirculation units in the United States and Canada Sixty-two percent (62%) of respondents used recirculation technology for business purposes, i.e., for profit-oriented production (Table 3) At present, recirculation technology is not frequently used for education (8% of respondents) or for demonstration (3%) purposes However, the survey population included only college and university aquaculture programs and did not include secondary schools We recognize that many secondary schools use small-scale recirculation systems in their natural science and agriculture curricula (there are over 20 of these units in secondary schools 10 International Journal of Recirculating Aquaculture, Volume Source of Water well water - fresh chlorinated water surface water artificial saltwater pumped saltwater spring water reverse osmosis saltwater well only one water source Total responses Count Percent Responses Percent Cases 34 22 17 5 50 23.3 15.1 11.6 4.1 3.4 3.4 2.7 2.1 34.2 27.6 17.9 13.8 4.9 4.1 4.1 3.3 2.4 40.7 146 100.0 118.7 Respondents we1-e allowed to report more than one answei' Indicated percent represents the proportion of respondents reporting each particular answer Table 2: Secondary source of water supply for recirculation facilities in the United States and Canada Purpose Business Research Education Demonstration Total Count Percent 81 37 10 61.8 28.6 7.6 2.3 131 100.0 Table 3: Main purpose ofrecirculation operations in United States and Canada in the State of West Virginia alone; (Don Michael, WV Dept of Education, personal communication) However, these secondary school units have little or no production output, and many are not functional yearround; thus, they were excluded from the survey population For respondents who indicated that business was the main purpose for using recirculation technology (Table 4), the most common business activities were: 1) growing fish for the food market (59%), 2) growing fish for sale to other farmers for grow-out (46%) and 3) supplying fish eggs to others (21 %) Under the heading "other business activities", public aquaria, education outreach, and supplying fry to others for growout to smolt stage were each identified more than once International Journal of Recirculating Aquaculture, Volume 11 Business activity Grow food fish to market size Supply fish for others to grow-out Supply fish eggs to others Grow fish for the ornamental market Grow fish for stocking in natural waters Grow fish for the bait market Other Count Percent 51 40 18 14 11 10 58.6 45.5 20.7 16.1 12.6 2.3 11.5 Respondents were allowed to mention more than one answer Indicated percent represents the proportion of respondents mentioning each particular answer Table 4: Types of business activities using recirculation technology in the United States and Canada The four fish types most frequently grown in recirculation facilities in the United States and Canada are tilapia (15%), Atlantic salmon (13%), ornamental fishes (9%) and hybrid striped bass (8%) (Table 5) Collectively, these four fish types constitute 45% of the sector Fishes belonging to the family Salmonidae represented almost 28% of the fish taxa grown as the primary crop in recirculation facilities Seventeen different categories of fish were identified in the questionnaire, plus a write-in area to report on other fish types not mentioned in the questionnaire In the "other" category (n=48), a wide variety of different species were reported, including some saltwater species (Table 6) When operators were asked to identify which taxa of fishes they had grown in the past, more facilities had grown rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) than any other fish type (46% of cases) (Table 7) Tilapia was the second most common fish type grown in the past (39% of cases) The three life stages most commonly reared in recirculation operations (Table 8) were fingerlings (96% ), fry (77% ), and eggs (73% ) Smolts constituted the smallest percentage of life stages grown (27% ), but this is not surprising since this life stage is specific only to the group of facilities that grow salmonids Many facilities did not know the survival rates of the earliest life stages, but they did have this information for later life stages (Table 9) Overall, the highest rates of survival were found in the later life stages From fry to 12 International Journal of Recirculating Aquaculture, Volume Count Name 26 23 15 14 Tilapia spp Atlantic salmon Ornamental fishes Hybrid striped bass Arctic charr Flatfish Rainbow trout Yellow perch Brook trout Chinook salmon Sturgeon Brown trout Catfish Baitfishes Bass - LM and SM Sunfishes Others 9 8 3 1 1 48 Percent Responses 14.8 13.1 8.5 8.0 5.1 5.1 4.5 4.5 2.8 1.7 1.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 27.3 Table 5: Types or species offish currently produced in recirculation facilities in the United States and Canada Freshwater species lake whitefish hybrid carp walleye tiger trout paddlefish razorback sucker white bass cobia coho salmon white seabass bonytail mummichog carp grass carp striped bass pacu Rio Grande silvery minnow Japanese medaka Marine species cod sea bream haddock Asian catfish muttonfish black sea bass Table 6: "Other" fishes grown as primary production (fish crop) in recirculation facilities in the United States and Canada International Journal of Recirculating Aquaculture, Volume 13 Name Rainbow trout Tilapia spp Ornamental fishes Hybrid striped bass Catfish Atlantic salmon Sturgeon Sunfish Brook trout Yellow perch Baitfish Bass- LM and SM Arctic charr Chinook salmon Flatfishes Brown trout Chum salmon Others Total responses Percent Responses Percent Cases 36 30 26 21 19 17 16 16 15 15 14 14 14 8 24 12.0 10.0 8.7 7.0 6.3 5.7 5.3 5.3 5.0 5.0 4.7 4.7 4.7 2.7 2.7 1.7 0.7 8.0 46.2 38.5 33.3 26.9 24.4 21.8 20.5 20.5 19.2 19.2 17.9 17.9 17.9 10.3 10.3 6.4 2.6 30.8 300 100.0 384.6 Count Respondents were allowed to mention more than one answer Indicated percent represents the proportion of respondents mentioning each particular answer Table 7: Fishes that have been grown in the past in current recirculation units in the United States and Canada Percent of Responses Percent Cases Life stage Count Egg Fry Fingerling Smalt Yearling Adult fish Food market-sized fish Broodfish 94 99 124 34 68 83 69 70 14.7 15.4 19.3 5.3 10.6 12.9 10.8 10.9 72.9 76.7 96.1 26.4 52.7 64.3 53.5 54.3 Total responses 641 100.0 496.9 Respondents were allowed to mention more than one answei: Indicated percent repre.